Primary home care usually requires that one mow or trim a wide variety of vegetation such as grass, weeds, light brush and vines as is found in lawns and adjacent areas and also for cutting vegetation around plants, trees, shrubs, buildings, sidewalks, driveways, and the like. Generally, the grass is cut using a conventional mower, but there is a secondary requirement which includes trimming along the edges of buildings, fences, sidewalks and driveways, which requires the use of motorized grass whip, such grass whips being well-known by those skilled in the art who undertake these chores.
Equipment currently in use for these tasks are heavy, cumbersome, and require skilled operators. Also, there is a certain amount of inefficiency when one has to use two or more pieces of equipment to complete the total mowing and trim project. Further, it would be advantageous if the trimmer and the mower were essentially the same piece of equipment which was essentially controllable by the operator of the mower without complex cable controls, other attachments, and such things as belts, cables, pulleys, sprockets, chains, and the like.
An example of a trimmer that is attachable to the shroud of a mower which has complex cable controls, other attachments, and such things as belts and pulleys, can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,099, issued Oct. 9, 1979 to Owens. That patent discloses a grass edger and trimmer attachment for a power mower including a vertical trimmer shaft mounted in a bearing fixed to the side of the mower housing. The shaft of the trimmer is driven by a pulley and belt combination which is powered by a mower engine, The attachment includes an arm hinged to the housing which allows the operator to lift the trimmer to a horizontal position or a vertical position to move it out of the way. The disclosed apparatus does not have any mobility with regard to moving the trimmer, except in the above-mentioned positions.
A second patent issued to Evans, U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,534, which issued Aug. 21, 1990, shows a lawn mowing apparatus which is useful with a tractor or an auxiliary apparatus. It requires a trailer to support the apparatus, and even though the trimmer component is movable in a swinging horizontal motion, it can only be moved so by the hand operation of complex sprocket and chain drive, and then only by the direct movement by the operator. In other words, the apparatus is not free-moving.
Yet another apparatus is that found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,536, which issued on Aug. 21, 1990 to Neufeld in which there is disclosed a riding lawn mower which has a front mowing attachment to which there is attached a moveable trimmer apparatus. It should be noted that the trimmer is not essentially freely moveable in that each position of each of the moveable portions of the apparatus have to been moved by a Bowden type cable, or by an auxiliary motor mounted on the mowing device.
Finally, with regard to the portable powered grass whip, there is shown in U.S. design Pat. No. 338,676, a power head for a cordless line trimmer, in which a power pack for the trimmer is located beneath the handle of the trimmer.
Thus, what would be desirable would be a simple trimming apparatus that could be attachable to a piece of riding lawn equipment such that the necessary trimming of grass and weeds could be done at the time that the mowing of the grass is being done. Additionally, it would be desirable that the whole apparatus could be simple and free-moving such that it would not be necessary for the operator to be highly trained or skilled in order to operate the apparatus.
Finally, it would be advantageous to have a truly portable, hand held trimmer, that would be lightweight, easy to handle, efficient, and inexpensive to own, and would have the capability of being used independently of the riding equipment, or could be used directly from the riding equipment.
It is therefore an one object of this invention to provide a simple trimming apparatus for attachment to lawn equipment, including riding mowers, push mowers, self-propelled mowers, and the like.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an efficient means to trim vegetation while mowing a lawn. It is yet another object to provide a lightweight portable powered trimming apparatus that can be used on a piece of lawn equipment, but is also useful independent of the lawn equipment.